Healthy SF wins another court round

San Francisco’s groundbreaking universal health care program withstood a legal challenge from restaurant owners today, setting up the possibility for a showdown before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a split decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal from the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, which challenged the program’s employer-spending requirement.

Chronicle

At Zazie in Cole Valley, the restaurant owner provides the required health care coverage by adding a $1 surcharge per customer.

The restaurant group had sought to have an 11-judge panel review an earlier decision that found the employer-spending requirement legal. The court today let that ruling stand.

Kevin Westlye, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, said his group will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“This country has a health care crisis, and it needs to address it on a national basis,” Westlye said. “What we don’t need is one municipality to put out its version for an expenditure for healthcare.”

The spending requirement opposed by the restaurant association mandates that businesses with 20 to 99 workers spend $1.23 per worker per hour on either health care or payments to the city. The fee jumps to $1.85 per hour for companies with more than 100 employees.

The overall cost of the plan is currently estimated at about $170 million a year, with employers having contributed about $35 million since January 2008, when the program expanded beyond just those under the federal poverty line, said Tangerine Brigham, director of Healthy San Francisco.

Deputy City Attorney Vince Chhabria, who is handling the legal case for the city, said an appeal from the restaurant group “would be very disappointing.”

“As a result of this ruling from the 9th Circuit, tens of thousands of San Franciscans have become eligible for health coverage,” Chhabria said. “To continue to fight now, they are fighting to take coverage away from those workers. I would hope they would stop, take a deep breath and think about it.”

Westlye disputed that assessment.

“Most restaurants offer health care” to full-time employees, Westlye said. “If this law was overturned, they will continue to offer health care to their full-time employees.”

UPDATE at 5:25 p.m.: Mayor Gavin Newsom’s press office just released this statement: “The Court’s decision is a significant victory for the city and for the thousands of San Francisco workers who now have access to health care. It is my sincere hope that the Golden Gate Restaurant Association will work for, not against, the city and county’s efforts to expand health care access. With an estimated 60,000 uninsured adults, it is time for all of us to collectively focus our efforts on providing health care to our uninsured residents.”